Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-03-31

at Constantinople may be death; that
is owing to the internal constitution of
the Austrian empire, which no power
can alter. But for England there is no
such danger, and consequently no such
need for conflict.
| But it will be said there is the Suez
canal-the Suez canal is the key to In
dia. Russia on the Mediterranean will
| threaten the canal, and will have it in
her power to seize the key of India.
Now, in the first place, say that the
Suez canal, save in time of peace, is
not the key to India, but that, on the
contrary, it is dangerous temptation
laid before our eyes to lead us to neg
lect the real and only true key to our
Indian empire. The road to India in
time of war is round the cape and not
through the canal, and if hundredth
part of the money which has been
spent in securing us from imaginary
dangers in north Africa had been ex-
pended upon Notifications and docks
at Simon's bay and Cape Town the
terrible dangers of the present situa-
minimum.
As European power in competition
with the armed states of the continent
England is at hopeless and permanent
| disadvantage. As member of a con-
federated empire of sea-bordered En-
glish-speaking states she will be in an
absolutely impregnable position, in
rx-hi ah fh1a hsa1-a g
the European governments will be alb
solutely without Importance, and only
interesting as study of contemporary
history in its smaller developments.
So long as we give hostages to Europe
by claiming an interest in its quarrels,
and right to participate in them, SO
long shall we be at their mercy. The
day on which we declare, once for all,
that we have no concern with the do
mestic politics of Europe, and inform
our enemies, if we have any, that if
they wish to quarrel with us they must
take to the water to obtain satisfaction,
we shall enter upon new and brighter
period of our history. AT present the
indiscretion of Roumanian patrol, the
ambition of Russian colonel, or the
intrigues of Greek patriot may drag
us at days notice into conflict in
which we have nothing to win and
everything to lose, and in which we
must inevitably spend our blood and
money in serving the cause of other
nations.
Already events are helping to i'm
MACS I1npn fho aOloniac tho ,,at,,,.o III
extent of the privilege and of the re-
sponsibility. Our real through route
to the east has within the past few
months been completed through the
west. Already the military authorities
in India are looking TO Australia as a
base of supply which can be reached
more easily than England The proper
fortiication of Esqumalt, Sydney,
Singapore, Simon's bay. and Muuritius
will make us absolutely independent OF
the Suez canal. Close the cape route
and Sydney and Melbourne are still
open. If the great Australian ports
are momentarily unavailable, the Cana
dian Pacific railway will once more en-
able us to turn the flank of any enemy.
The one and only route, throughout
the greater part of which we move on
sufferance under the guns of every
man-drilling power in Europe, is the
one on which we expend all our fore
thought and all our resources. 1t is
time that we recognized the new facts
of the political situation.
All this comes of our forgetting that
a new England has sprung up, destined
to be infinitely greater and infinitely
more powerful than the old on the one
condition that she breaks forever with
the old tradition which made her one
of the old land powers Of Europe, and
accepts the new and brighter role of
the greatest sea power of the world
Il. o. Foster, IN Nineteenth Century.